Best non-R1 DVDs

Message

Gary Tooze · #1 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 12:07 pm

Which makes me feel guilty for not supporting DVDBeaver when I buy stuff.

and so you should feel guilty!! ! (just joking - Bensons is a good etailor, although sometimes they take forever for me in Canada)

I agree with all DVDs mentioned and personally I would say (off the top of my head)

UK - AE - Rosetta, Beau Travail and Kieslowski's Blue (translation of the Greek Chorus), Code Unknown, Mirror, BFI - A Day in the Country and Edge of the World, Optimum Spirit of the Beehive, Rohmer's Aviators Wife as well as The Green Ray, Tartan "Gosepl According to St. Matthew and their The Terrorist

France - Wind Will Carry Us - TF1' In the Mood for Love and Millennium Mambo, Arte' The Scent of Green Papaya' (and Cyclo)

Japan - Elite - Hero, Woman in the Dunes and Superbit Jurassic Park...

Germany - Kinowelt - Picnic At Hanging Rock, Hitch Early Years

Brazil - Brazil (only NTSC anamorphic edition), Great Expectations (Cuaron)

I have tried to document many here.

Best,
Gary

Napoleon · #2 Post by **Napoleon** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:19 am

The UK R2 RAN trounces the image quality of the R1's. Not that its too difficult.

swingo · #3 Post by **swingo** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:50 am

Brasil: Eternity and a Day-Theo Angelopolous

Axel.

Gary Tooze · #4 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:01 am

That Brazilain "Eternity and a Day" is one of the worst quality DVDs that I own...

Best,
Gary

swingo · #5 Post by **swingo** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:15 am

Hmm, I've noticed that also... I really appreciate your efforts and your great site Gary... I like the edition but not the quality as you pointed out. It is easy to see on the Palme D'Or logo. It is one of my top ten favorite movies, maybe that's why I posted it, but certainly I would love to see a much better transfer

I've been curious of what you think of the Mexican Alterfilms editions

bcsparker · #6 Post by **bcsparker** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 1:52 am

For myself, I like the R0 PAL 2 disc edition of "Battle Royale". A whole bunch of extras, and I found I can just play it on my PC.

Pinback · #7 Post by **Pinback** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 5:12 am

bcsparker wrote:For myself, I like the R0 PAL 2 disc edition of "Battle Royale". A whole bunch of extras, and I found I can just play it on my PC.

The drawback of the UK Battle Royale releases is that if you want the superior theatrical cut, it comes barebones. It's the inferior extended edition that's loaded with extras. I'm still waiting for a definitve edition containing both cuts and all the extras.

Gary Tooze · #8 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:15 pm

I am slowly trying to document many of the selections mentioned...

I have updated this old page on Beaver: Why go Region-Free

If there are more please let me know and we will try to review/compare and post on this page.

I guess the one not mentioned so far is the French DVD of Welles The Trial.

Note: I think I have only scratched the surface of the French DVD productions of American film noirs that are not available in Region 1.

Best
Gary

BrightEyes23 · #9 Post by **BrightEyes23** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 11:48 pm

my other thread got locked, although, really it wasnt asking what this thread is about so I guess I should clerify here...I'm not asking what are the best Non-R1 dvds out there to pickup, i just want to know some dvds that i'd enjoy from the specified countries that the forum members recommend...this thread appears to be more focused on which region has better versions of specific titles...

Gary Tooze · #10 Post by **Gary Tooze** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 8:32 pm

I'm not asking what are the best Non-R1 dvds out there to pickup, i just want to know some dvds that i'd enjoy from the specified countries that the forum members recommend

Isn't that the same thing? If the Forum members think these are the best - aren't they recommending them to you or do you mean FILMS from other countries? Not necessarily DVDs from other countries. Please clarify.

Best,
Gary

skuhn8 · #11 Post by **skuhn8** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 2:33 am

BrightEyes23 wrote:my other thread got locked, although, really it wasnt asking what this thread is about so I guess I should clerify here...I'm not asking what are the best Non-R1 dvds out there to pickup, i just want to know some dvds that i'd enjoy from the specified countries that the forum members recommend...this thread appears to be more focused on which region has better versions of specific titles...

I've read this message about 8 times now and can't make heads or tails.

exte · #12 Post by **exte** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 3:26 am

I think what he means is he doesn't care what region is the best for films like True Lies, you know? Like I would strongly recommend the movie Breaking the Waves (the Danish release). He doesn't just want a list of best regions, cause he can find that at dvdcompare.net. He wants basic film recommendations (and their best regions)...

BrightEyes23 · #13 Post by **BrightEyes23** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:47 am

exte wrote:I think what he means is he doesn't care what region is the best for films like True Lies, you know? Like I would strongly recommend the movie Breaking the Waves (the Danish release). He doesn't just want a list of best regions, cause he can find that at dvdcompare.net. He wants basic film recommendations (and their best regions)...

Yes, that's what I'm asking. I'm not really interested in movies that are available in R1 land even if there are better versions in R2 or R3, what I'd like is recommendations of DVDs that are available ONLY in R2 and R3 beyond the obvious Bergmans, Godards, Melvilles, etc. (because I already own them

)

kieslowski_67 · #14 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:20 pm

MK2 and Studio Canal's Tavernier, Techine, Blier box sets feature much better transfer than those from New Yorker, Kino, etc.

The French release of Pasolini's 'trilogy of life' and 'salo' trumped Image and Criterion release by a mile regarding transfer quality.

And the Italian Medusa release of "Red Desert" just blew me a way. The Image disc is of no contest, to say the least.

There are many more examples that R2, or R3 releases provide much better transfers than those R1 counterparts, not to mention that lots of those releases are not available in the US. For example, Japan released lots of Bresson, Rossilini, Jarman titles in the last several years. And the 4 box sets of Theo Angelopoulos, 2 box sets of Malle are more than adequate representation of these major directors who have yet to see a significant R1 release of their major works in the States.

kieslowski_67 · #15 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:47 pm

Had no idea this was out there -- where can one acquire said disc?

Here you are. I suspect that the upcoming CC release of Visconti's 'Notti bianche' will use similar transfer of that from the Italian Pal version. As such, I guess that 'red desert' should come from CC in the near future.

#16 Post by **zedz** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 7:46 pm

I guess I should note here Raro Video's gorgeous Medea: superb transfer, nice extras, all subtitled.

Their Herzog set (Signs of Life plus early shorts) is also excellent.

porquenegar · #17 Post by **porquenegar** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 12:05 pm

I recently picked up the Anchor Bay UK Repulsion disc and it is excellent. I believe it also includes the commentary track from the Criterion LD. It can be had for less than $20 shipped from amazon.uk

Anonymous · #18 Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:26 am

I don't like my home country very much, but i must say, after having bought DVDs internationally for over two years and from all regions, that the french produce overall the best quality DVDs (image wise). Out of the top of my head :

- Seven Samurai 2 DVD special edition (now out of print and much better than Criterion)
- Ran 2 DVD Special edition (still in print and better than Masterworks)
- Shaw Brothers movies (amazing work from Wild Side Video)
- Hard boiled and The Killer 2 DVD editions (better than Criterion)
- Salo (Wow, image quality blows away Criterion)

Yes i love Far East movies

Where they sometimes lack is sound and extras, but more often they are at least as good as others. Worth your while to learn some french so you can read those subtitles and benefit from the awesome image quality we get, cause french DVDs rarely bother to include english subs.

der_Artur · #19 Post by **der_Artur** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:57 am

badwisdom wrote:Salo (Wow, image quality blows away Criterion)

Yes, the French DVD has a great picture, but there is one little scene missing. The best Edition is the German one, it has the same picture as the French DVD and is complete. But it is not that easy to obtain, because of the German laws. You have to use austrian web-shops for example.

Anonymous · #20 Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 3:35 pm

What scene is missing ? Cant buy that DVD, dont know either Italian or german

French edition has 5.1 sound though, german is 1.0 mono

der_Artur · #21 Post by **der_Artur** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:58 pm

The French and the American DVD both miss a poem by Gottfried Benn. See the 6th capture in the Beaver-comparison.

kieslowski_67 · #22 Post by **kieslowski_67** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 9:39 am

My only problem with the French "salo" is that it's not anarmorphic transfer as compared to those for 'trilogy of life'. BTW, talking about transfer quality, I always think that the MGM 'decameron' used a ridiculously good print, and yet the French version is even better.

Can anyone provide any info on the Italian release of "salo"? Just wondering whether it's anamorphic or not.

Also strongly recommend the Studio Canal release of Tarvernier box sets. And several titles (Sunday in the country, captain Conan etc) have English subtitles as a bonus

BrightEyes23 · #23 Post by **BrightEyes23** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 2:06 am

Hey all. I'm ordering the Otar Iosseliani boxed set from amazon.fr and wanted to add a few more titles to the order to save on shipping. What are some great titles that I should pick up?

They MUSt contain english subs.

My interests very from just about everything and anything, I already have the MK2 Ivan's Childhood. I'm considering the Resnais boxed set.

I'm also very interested into getting into lesser known directors, and generally trust the judgement of those who post on the board.

Thanks!

Arn777 · #24 Post by **Arn777** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 3:35 am

I would strongly recommend Philippe Garrel's Naissance de l'amour/Sauvage Innocence, from Cahiers du Cinema, both with english subs. And Nicholas Ray The live by night (les amants de la nuit) (see the thread titled new R2 from France below).

godardslave · #25 Post by **godardslave** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 4:17 am

BrightEyes23 wrote:I'm considering the Resnais boxed set.

which resnais box set would that be? can you provide a link please?